Whale, I'll be! Experts confirm beluga spotted in Taunton River

Residents report fluke sightings of creature, which usually makes its home in colder waters

Stefan SwaintekCorrespondent

TAUNTON — The Taunton River has had an unexpected guest for the past week or so.

On June 18, the International Fund for Animal Welfare, acting on a report made three days earlier of a beluga whale swimming in the Taunton River, confirmed that it was a beluga after spotting it from an aircraft.

Since being spotted, the whale has been seen at various points on the river, from Somerset to Berkley to the Taunton Yacht Club in Dighton.

The arrival of the river’s newest inhabitant is raising many questions among residents and the marine science community.

“I wish we knew why (it is here),” said Brian Sharp, the manager of marine mammal rescue and research division at the IFAW.

Beluga whales are not native to this area. These animals are found in arctic and subarctic waters, with the southernmost group located in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in Canada.

Little is known about the creature in the Taunton River, including its age, gender and where it came from.

Tony LaCasse, the media relations director of the New England Aquarium, said it might have been pushed out of its natural habitats by other animals, or it might have made a mistake when searching for its migration routes.

LaCasse also said this whale could just be a young creature filled with wanderlust, as are many “wrong-way” animals.

“When do you backpack across Europe or road trip across country? When you’re young. Sea animals have the same sort of ambitions as humans,” LaCasse said.

Beluga whales are typically found in groups, or pods, of two to 10 or more, LaCasse said, though it is not rare for them to go out on their own.

IFAW is monitoring the whale and assessing what the next step should be, including whether to extricate it.

“There will be no intervention unless the animal's health begins deteriorating,” Sharp said.

Though it is rare that belugas venture this far south, it is not entirely uncommon. There have been three confirmed sightings in the past decade.

The most recent and the most famous sighting was of a young male beluga named Poco. The whale was found during a survey in the Boston Harbor in 2004. Poco was known to cruise the coast until it died of what LaCasse called a “systematic infection.”

Sightings of the beluga have been reported on social media, too.

“A beluga whale right here in the Taunton River! A long ways from home, isn’t it?” Twitter user Zach Perrin Tweeted last weekend, along with a photo of the creature.

“I saw the Taunton River whale on June 16 in front of the Taunton Yacht Club,” Twitter user Scott Gebelein reported to The Herald News, along with a photo he took.

For now, the IFAW is going to continue to monitor the animal and is reminding people who spot the creature to stay at least 150 feet away from it and to call the group’s hot line at 508-743-9548.